


Spirits on the Run

by AKBruce



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, On the Run, Protective Natsu Dragneel, lucy heartfilia/Natsu Dragneel centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:01:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21820609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKBruce/pseuds/AKBruce
Summary: The bridge to the Celestial World has been destroyed. Celestial Mages are outlawed. Lucy finds herself constantly on the run from the authorities. Her magic doesn't work the way she wants it to. She is breaking, emotionally, tired of running. What happens when the powerful black-eyed, pink-haired creature that was tracking her for the authorities offers her an opportunity that could change her life?
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 14
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! If you've stumbled upon this work and decide it is worth a read, I thank you dearly. I've never written an anime fic before, even though anime is my life. Anndddd since I love Fairy Tail I decided it'd be worth a shot. This story has been in my head a while so I'm glad I finally got it written. This work is not completed, and I am a university student so don't expect me to be updating once a week. Though I will aim for that, I am not perfect and am a busy person. Please enjoy!

1

Lucy was racing against time itself it seemed. When would she crack, when would she forget something, when would she give in and lose to the tyranny crashing down on her? 

Of course, she was literally running as well. The stalls of the vendors selling this and that flashed by in a blur as Lucy winded through the crowds of buyers on the narrow European streets. She couldn’t tell how far behind the people chasing her were.  _ Spirits _ , times like this was when she wished she had some sensing power, like a scent or a proximity alerter.

Her breaths became more shallow, she tried to even them out, taking a sharp left turn, and accidently knocking a latte out of some teenagers hand. The teen yelled but Lucy paid no attention, focusing on losing the trail. 

It was her fault after all. Her spirits just had to send a powerburst that alerted the authorities where she was while she was in the middle of roaming the streets, gathering intel and charming pervy men into giving her good deals on pricey items. 

She heard a shout from behind her and whistles being blown, which was never a good sign. Taking a right turn into a narrower alley way that’s deserted except for the smell of piss and rotten trash cans, she pulled her bag off her shoulders and grabbed out two small knives. The good part about her spirits sending a burst of power meant that she could do things most humans may find tricky. 

With no time to lose she began digging the knives into the brick wall to her right, just enough so she could heave herself up and balance her feet on the ridges between the bricks. With inhumane pace she scaled the wall, making it onto the rooftop and shoving the knives back into her pack. She laid flat, her breaths coming out short and uneven. Begging them to quiet down she strained her ears, listening for the authorities. The noise of the whistle makes its way down the alleyway and gets further. 

After what felt like decades she lifted her head up and peered over the side, glancing about. No one in sight. She sighed, standing up onto the rooftop- and that’s when she saw him. 

Him? It? She wasn’t sure. He was a couple rooftops away, standing straight and staring straight at her. He-or it’s- hair is a bright salmon, and it’s body is built as if it knows the pains of battle firsthand. Even from afar she could see the black bitterness of his eyes. Lucy shivered, finding herself looking for only a few more seconds before taking a running jump across the rooftop to the one right next to it, away from the creature. 

While she hopped the narrow rooftops, she found herself constantly glancing back, the figure still in the same place, slowly growing smaller as she got further away. Why didn’t it move? Why didn’t it chase? She prayed to the Spirits that it didn’t work for the authorities. If it did, Spirits save her, she was doomed. Either way, when Lucy reached the rooftop on the outskirts of town that belonged to the shabby motel she had been staying in, she decided it was time to leave this down.

\- ♏ - 

Lucy was a captive. Captive of her own mind and soul, yes, but also in a more literal sense. 

It had been years since her childhood home became illegal. Since  _ she,  _ as a human being, became illegal. She got the magic from her mother, Layla. She was wicked crazy, Lucy had heard, though she couldn’t say for certain. She’d never met her, only heard stories from her spirits about her. 

No, not ghost spirits, Celestial Spirits. They’re the 12 Zodiac signs along with some others. They were banished from Lucy’s world long ago, and she’s never seen any of them in physical form, but she sees them in her dreams, and they’re constantly in her ears. They love to tell her what she’s doing right and what she’s doing wrong; give her ‘advice’. 

The problem is, they just throw their power at her in random spurts, and she didn’t get to choose when she wanted to suppress the power. Since they got trapped in their world and banished from Lucy’s, when she requested for a boost in magic power verses when they hear her call is dependent on what time they were in, as the time in the celestial world was completely different. This resulted in random surges of magic power and a lack of said powers at some times. 

Lucy tried to keep as much as she needs pooled inside herself, like potential energy, stored to become kinetic. She saved it for when it’s needed. 

Of course, the past occurrence was not one of the times it was needed, which just made it that much worse for Lucy. 

She was in the motel she’d been in for the past two nights. Normally she’d switch every week and just go from one town to another close town. Not this time though. This time she needs to get the hell out of the area, maybe even the country. She knew full well just what the government would do to her when they find her. Not to mention the pink-haired magic user. 

Lucy knew he’s been tracking her, her magic can sense him. She figured he has her scent, since his magic seems to be versed in that area. Chance’s were he was a dragonslayer or a requipper or close to that high calibur magic based off of the aura and his eyes. She’d prefer to avoid that strong of magic, especially if he was one of the dogs of the government. They loved to recruit extremely-high powered magic users to hunt down the Celestial’s. But, even if he wasn’t working for the government, who’d want to deal with someone that powerful?

The television stations and news radios were broadcasting her outburst everywhere. Some kid got a picture of her burst, and the light is clear in the photo, and it was Lucy’s special light, though anyone not versed in magical knowledge couldn’t sense a difference. She figured leaving the country was the best option, before either the government or the pink haired boy find her. 

Of course though, at the time she couldn’t feel any magic power in her bones beside the amount she kept stored, which proves just great. She could attempt to get on a train and country hop, but that’d mean having to do so without being identified, equating to lots of hiding and celestial jumping. Sighing, she flipped off the telly and stood up off the creaking mattress of the motel room, reaching onto the desk and grabbing her small bag containing all her belongings: her mom’s keys, the remaining cash from the job she had at the market, two small daggers that come in handy in hand-to-hand combat and wall climbing, her now powerless whip, and the photo of her parents and her right after she was born.

Though the keys didn’t have access to the spirits like they would if the doors between the celestial world and Lucy’s world weren’t closed, if the doors were to finally be opened, she could use the keys to call to her spirits. Plus, it was the only thing of her mom’s she still possessed, and she liked to collect keys when she can. People gave them out, since they were useless, and they were easy to steal.

She pulled on a pair of boots, shoving the brown door open, and slipped the bag around her back. That morning she’d been lazy and had just thrown on jeans, a tee shirt that had ‘ _ salamander’ _ written on the front in blazing red letters and a grey zip-up hoodie, topped off with the tattered boots and jeans. She didn’t adore the look, but she didn’t feel like going and stealing any other clothes.

Sighing, she headed down the concrete stairs that led to the backside of the motel. When the stairs came to an end Lucy whipped the hood of the sweatshirt over her head, deciding should probably cut and dye her hair as well. Brunette was never really her style, anyways. She put her hands into the sweatshirt pockets, dropped her shoulders, attempting to make her body language clear: leave me alone. Lucy wished she had the senses of an elemental mage or any type of ‘regular’ mage, for that matter. She could sense things much better. But no, she just has voices in her head.

The problem was, because of the complex system set up by the authorities, once a magic user had seen Lucy’s celestial spirit burst, they had all the information they needed to know every detail about her, in that moment of the burst.  
When the Celestials were outlawed, and the doors were finally closed, the authorities were having trouble tracking the celestials down for the exact reason they have trouble finding Lucy: they look, seem, and smell normal. The only thing that ever made them distinct before the split was the aura the spirits gave them. After the split, the aura disappeared, even if their powers didn’t fully disappear. So, to cope with this, a powerful wizard that could read and interpret all languages and use letter script magic in the air developed a formula to learn most traits of a celestial mage by what their released power during phase looked like. Using this certain letter script formula, the authorities probably already knew Lucy’s name, appearance, home, school, etc. 

Clever, and destructive. But, since it just told the user “brown hair, collarbone length”, they only had what an artist can put together based on the facts, not a real picture. So, if all of a sudden Lucy no longer had brown collarbone length hair, it would become easier to confuse them. In clearer terms the user of the formula reads a description of the Celestial, instead of seeing a picture. So, even if the artist’s drawing was spot on, changing up all one could about themself is a helpful tactic Lucy learned from watching celestial mages being caught over and over again. 

Deciding changing her hair was exactly what she was going to do, Lucy began towards the East side of the city. She knew it well, since she spent a few months in the city. She figured she’d change her look and then continue East. According to geography, she would hit Some Czech or Polish farmland. If she hid out in that area, she’d have a higher chance of re-grouping and going somewhere new or even finding a way to get the western hemisphere. 

The back alleys were pretty empty, although Lucy couldn’t recall what day of the week it was, so there was a high chance it wasn’t a weekend. Her mind wandered as she slips through the shadows, her soul so practiced in the art of staying hidden. 

Lucy didn’t understand why the pink haired boy hadn’t attacked yet. She was aware he’d been following her and could possibly find her before she has the chance to get away from the authorities. So why hadn’t he made a move? 

The authorities had a name, as they are a mixture of plenty of people. They had different magic users from all approved guilds. They were called the Magic Council, and each approved guild was allowed four spots on the council, regardless of gender or magical power levels and all the traits that make people different. They were extremely powerful. They have eyes everywhere and every type of mage represented. The ultimate tyrant, and half the world didn’t even know it. Sure, magic wasn’t something lost to the public, but most people didn’t have it, so their ability to sense power was almost none. To regular people, the council was just normal- the authorities, government, call them what you will. What ordinary people didn’t know was that almost every government in the world was run by the magic council. 

Lucy halted after treading a few blocks, seeing a small gas station with a drug store right next to it. Bingo. She pulled her hood tighter up over her hair, shoving it all behind her head and tightening the strings, hoping to look like a junkie not worth bothering. 

The crosswalk symbol lit up, her feet moving for her. A few cars littered the streets, and the sky was a dull grey, reflecting her mood in a well done manor, though it was her constant mood. She wasn’t really sad anymore. Her emotions were just dull, as if they weren’t even there anymore, or didn’t exist.

When she reached the station’s shop, she pushed the door open and nodded to the guy sitting at the counter giving her a once over she knew too well. She walked towards the back of the store, ignoring the creep’s gross glare, making her way through the aisles, until she reached where the hair dye was located. 

Skimming the boxes of dye, Lucy realised the only options were brown and blonde. Figured. She scowled at the boxes, as if they could see her slight frustration and magically switch colours. So be it. Sighing, she picked up the blonde option, since she’d been a brunette for a while now. Platinum blonde. Definitely good for stealth and hiding. 

She made her way to the register, grabbing a six-pack of top ramen on the way, and laid the food and dye on the counter in front of the creepy attendant. He swiped the items and Lucy handed him a 20 euro in return. Damn, she was almost out of money. Her eyes darted to the outside as he sorts out the cash, not wanting to watch him, and she finds her body going into alert mode, sensing something is off. 

The man handed her the change and she muttered a quick thank you before making her way to the back of the building where she could see a sign for the toilets. Bursting through the door, she was vaguely aware of the stench of urine and rotten cigarette buds as she ripped open the hair dye package, not bothering to put the gloves on that protect skin from getting dyed. 

The mirror wasn’t clean, and she could only see a sheen half-reflection of herself staring back at her. She noticed then that she looked like a nervous wreck, pupils much too big and eyes bright red. She really had to get herself in check, or people would definitely be wary of her if she looked too much like a threat or criminal.

She began at her hair, scooping up the hair dye in handfuls and, as carefully as her shaky hands could manage, running the dye through her hair strands, covering them completely. She found herself humming and old song the other Celestials used to sing and was so preoccupied in her hair dying that she didn’t notice a figure looming in the back of the bathroom until she turned to her bag to get out the daggers to cut the hair. 

“Celestial wizards know the old folk tunes as well, who’d have thought?” Lucy jumped, her heart in her throat, finding herself eye-to-eye with the pink haired creature.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Happy holidays and Merry Christmas if you celebrate. I guess this is my gift to you? Hope everyone is enjoying. Comments and kudos are pretty rad. Thanks everyone!

2

The Dragonslayer named Natsu Dragneel did not like waiting. Sure, the hunt was fun and all, but he was never a fan of the waiting part. Having to sit back and wait for the Magic Council to order him on what to do next was never his favorite part of the job description.  
Perfect example: his current situation. He’d been hunting this Celestial girl for days, and he was so damn tired of finding her and then the Council saying to just record this or that and send it to them. What good was the hunt if he couldn’t go right in and take what he was told to take?

The Magic Council had never been his favorite people, and he was tired of being a mutt for them. He’d thought of rebelling and leaving them for a while. It’d leave a target on his back, but he was too strong for most of them to come after him, anyways. They knew it too. 

Finally, he gave in to the push and left the motel room, following the girl’s scent to a gas station on the far side of town. It wasn’t hard to track her, just like it wasn’t hard for him to track any human. 

And then he found himself there. Face to face with the girl, inside the toilets. She was doing something to her hair, and she was so preoccupied with humming softly that she hadn’t heard him open the door, or watch her as she ran some gunk through her hair. It wasn’t until she turned to grab something from her bag that she finally noticed him.

“Celestial Wizards know the old folk tunes as well, who’d have thought?” He said, causing her to jump, her eyes terrified. There was something else in her eyes as well. It was pure sadness. She looked utterly dead inside. He felt for the girl, although he probably shouldn’t have. He always tried to ignore the emotions of the victims the Council sent him to retrieve. It hurt less that way. 

“Well, are you going to cut it or not?” He asked, nodding his head towards the dagger she had grabbed from her bag to cut her hair with. The girl brought the dagger up and sliced the strands without even looking at the mirror, the dagger chopping the hair at an angle. It fell to the ground, and she raised the dagger to the other side, successfully chopping off the rest of the hair. 

Natsu had to hand it to her, she was brave. Most people would drop the weapons and beg for mercy. She put the dagger back in the bag, probably in attempt of not making him angry. He wasn’t sure if she realised a dagger couldn’t do much against him but he kept his mouth shut. 

“What’s your name?”

She hesitated, her eyes flickering between him and the door. He knew what she was thinking. If she told him her name he could identify if she was on the list of Celestials the Council still hadn’t caught. 

“They sent you for me without even offering up my name?” The girl asked instead of saying her name, her tone as dead as her eyes, except for the tiniest level of sass. 

“All I need is a scent,” he said, shrugging. She nodded, a slow motion. “They don’t know your name, anyways,” he dropped, hoping the reliving fact could help him gain her trust. She didn’t know he was planning on betraying the council. He could definitely use her fear to his advantage, even if that’s rude of him. But, when did he ever care if he was being rude?

“Are you planning on telling them?” Her voice felt like it could be lovely. Maybe in the past when it still had it’s joy it was lovely. Or maybe it never was and the potential was just waiting somewhere, unknown to the owner, who obviously had misery cast upon her at a young age.

Her hair looked a mess, the platinum blonde starting to peak over the brown, the strands uneven. Natsu wanted to say something or do something about it, but she seemed to not even notice. Something about her told him she didn’t really care what other people thought. 

“I guess that depends on you,” Natsu responded. Unable to get over the appearance of the girl, he motioned to the girls birdnest on her head. “Are you going to wash that out?” 

She shrugged in what seemed to be defeat, and dunked her head in the sink in front of her, letting the water fall over her hair. Natsu watched, unsure of what to do, even if he did tell her to wash it out. She lifted her head from the sink and grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser, scrubbing at the hair until it’s semi-dry and decently presentable. Natsu stood, rooted in place, watching, his face hard. He had no clue what he was doing. If the girl continued at this slow pace he might just bring her in due to the lack of excitement. 

“Call it suspicion,” she started, continuing to wipe at her hair with the towels, meeting his eyes through the mirror, “But I don’t think you’ll be taking me to the council,” She declared, and Natsu almost guffaws at the fact she could just tell without him saying anything. He’d heard that Celestial wizards were empathetic. Maybe that was part of the reason they were so dangerous in the council’s eyes. Emotion was never a good thing to the council. 

“I’m debating,” Natsu admitted, not wanting to give her anymore ideas on what he was going to do. The girl took in a deep breath, throwing all the gunky paper towels in the trash and ran her fingers through the damp platinum blonde in her hair. Her full attention on him, she angled her body towards him, her eyes digging into his exterior. He wasn’t used to people looking at him directly for too long.

It isn’t like she wasn’t scared, not exactly. Natsu could sense the fear on her, just like he could sense it on anyone. It’s almost like she didn’t care that she was scared, she didn’t care what the outcome was. His heart faltered for a second, and it seemed as if she could read the softening of his soul. Maybe she could

“Well, you might want to make your decision quickly, because if you are letting me go, I need all the time I can get,” The girl said, her voice flat. Natsu raised a brow but said nothing, sizing her up once more. Shit. He couldn’t resist. There was no point in staying with the council. His life working for the council had become too boring, the hunts less exciting every time. He was bored. And something deep inside of him told him that the girl in front of him had the potential to be extremely exciting. For one, he’d be on the run with her, aiding her. For two, he saw past her dull, dead exterior. He knew there was something there, some sense of purpose or emotion, begging to come out. Maybe he’d be able to coax it out. 

“Alright. What’s the plan?” He questioned, looking to her small bag. There couldn’t be much in there to aid with relocating. Was she not planning on running? He looked back up at her, and watched her swallow. 

“What do you mean?” She inquired, her voice cautious. She didn’t trust him, didn’t believe he was actually going to let her free. Boy was she going to get a kick out of this. 

“Well, to be honest, sweetheart, I’m severely bored. I’ve never been on the run from the law before, and frankly, you look like you could use some serious help,” He said, and she blanched, finally understanding his proposal. Her face morphed, and what he saw next was something that seemed almost hopeful. His soul did the soft thing again, and he cursed at it. 

She put everything back in her bag. Her hands worked fast, until everything was packed up, and then she slung the bag over her shoulders. She really looked at him, probably making her decision on whether or not this was a good idea. Heaven help her, he knew it probably wasn’t, but he was just so bored. “I was thinking East. I’m not sure where in Germany we are, but if I go East I’ll probably hit Polish or Czech farmland.”

Natsu nodded. “We.”

She blinked, taking a few seconds before nodding back at him. “Okay, we,” She said, heading towards the door. “But, how do I know you’re not just going to go and turn me in once you get to know me?” She asked abruptly. She was smart, no doubt, as Natsu had done something like that before. 

“Call it celestial intuition,” He said, and her eyes darted around. Ah, so she wasn’t used to being called the C-word. “Besides, like I said, I’m bored,” Natsu shrugged, as if this was explanation enough, and then gestured to the door. “Lead the way.”

\- ♉ -

They were about two hours out of the city by now. Curse the pink-haired boy. That phrase had been running through Lucy’s head for the past two hours, at every occasion possible. They had to walk, because, according to know-it-all, public transport was trackable, even when paying in cash. But, they couldn’t walk the main streets, no, not after her outburst, so they had to walk through suburban neighborhoods, back alleyways, and sometimes even fields. Curse him.

She must’ve been losing her mind. That was her only explanation for her acceptance of this random stranger who had been planning on turning her in to the magic council not even a day ago. She didn’t know why she accepted him. Deep down, maybe some part of her was just lonely enough that she didn’t care who it was, as long as she had a companion. 

He moved fast. It was a pain on her legs. He didn’t falter, either, just kept going ahead of her at an ungodly pace. She was pretty sure he was using his magic to walk faster. Damn magic users who could use their magic whenever they pleased. She was so envious of that fact, that she eventually stopped in the middle of an alleyway out of frustration. 

He turned back to her after sensing she’d stopped, waiting silently for her to catch her breath. He didn’t say anything, just watched her. She breathed deep, sucking in all the air she could. She had never thought she was out of shape, but this man moved like a jungle animal.

“You know I can’t use my magic to make myself faster like you can?” Lucy pointed out, done holding in all the frustration being caused. He crossed his arms, leaning his body up against the wall of the alleyway. His bitter black eyes narrowed at her. He was hot. The thought occurred to Lucy just as suddenly as she shoved it away. Attraction was not an emotion she wanted to add to her list.

“I’m not using any magic,” He answered, and Lucy frowned. So he was just naturally moving that fast? Damn. Lucy really needed to get whatever he was eating. She schooled herself, realising she had felt more emotion on this day than the past year. All that emotion wouldn’t be good for her plan. It’d just make her feel like she was normal, like she was allowed a normal, enjoyable life. 

“Sorry, I thought you were. Let’s continue,” She said, her voice flat, her body forcing herself back into neutrality. She’d have to find a way to keep up with his pace, since there seemed to be no way to slow him down, especially if she couldn’t use him using magic as an excuse. She needed to focus on the running, and what they’d do when they got out of the country. They. How odd. 

She continued to walk, reaching where he was leaning and then passing him, though it didn’t last long since his strides were crazy long. He grabbed her arm, stopping her, and she looked back at him, confused on why he was stopping her when he’d been moving fast for such a long time now and on why he was touching her. His hands were extremely warm. She just looked at him, waiting. 

“Why do you do that?” He asked, and Lucy met his eyes, still confused. “You have a roadblock you smack down whenever you start to get angry or frustrated. You’re allowed to be frustrated. Hell, I’m mad all the time,” He said, and Lucy was surprised by that. She hadn’t expected him to care, let alone notice. Still, she really didn’t feel like having an emotional conversation with a complete stranger, and she didn’t want to feel more than she’d already felt today. 

“Unlike you, I don’t have the luxury of feeling. If I allowed myself to be mad, or frustrated the little magic I can keep stored from when my spirits throw it on me would burst out and I’d have to run even faster,” She said instead. It was partially true. Celestial Wizard’s were more empathetic than other wizards, due to the fact that they create friendships with their magic, aka their spirits. She yanked her arm out of his hold and he let go without arguing. She was done playing friends.

He didn’t say anything else, but she did notice that he slowed down and moved at her pace for the rest of the afternoon.

\- ♉ -

By the time they reached another big city Natsu could tell the girl was done moving for the day. She moved slow, way slower than Natsu was used to. When he was on tracking missions there was no stopping him and he was moving at the fastest pace his body could muster. She was weak, that was the bottom line. Much too weak to be traveling at his pace. Eventually, he gave up hope that she would keep up with his pace and adjusted. 

Especially after hearing her deadpan earlier, how she’d shoved all her emotions down, even though she was frustrated. It wasn’t anything Natsu was used to or expected. All the people on the council and the people he grew up with expressed exactly how they felt with no remorse. Natsu could remember all the times that his best friend, Happy, the flying blue cat, had yelled at him over something unimportant or miniscule. He could remember his older brother, Zeref, stating his frustrations over small things Natsu did wrong or just plain stupidity. 

How dumb of him, though. This girl had none of that. No best friend, no big brother, no family. Natsu didn’t even know what she had. 

They were walking through the back streets of the city. They hadn’t talked since she told him about the empathy thing. He’d have to tread lightly. “I think he should find somewhere to stay for the night,” He finally spoke up. She looked up at him. Her slumping body screamed tired. “We can find a motel and continue in the morning. The council still thinks I’m searching for you to turn you in, so they won’t come looking until a few days with no contact from me,” He informed, and she nodded. 

He proceeded towards a more central street, in hopes of finding some little place to stay. A few blocks later they came upon a run down inn that’s ‘vacancies’ sign was lit up. The girl didn’t object when Natsu started moving towards it, so he took that as an okay by her. He couldn’t figure her out. 

“I’ll do all the talking,” He said without explanation, but she didn’t argue. He opened the doors of the inn, the hinges creaking at the weight, and continued through to the front counter. A tiny old man sat behind it, a computer in front of him. His frail hands were typing something and Natsu waited, the girl slightly next to and slightly behind him. 

“Yes?” The man said, pushing up the glasses at his nose and inspecting Natsu. The pink hair sometimes didn’t go well with the elderly. It was his natural hair, wasn’t even his fault, but sometimes they were still appalled. The man didn’t say anything about it though, waiting.

“One room, two beds,” Natsu said. He probably should’ve been more polite, but he was bored, and he was ready to sleep. He hadn’t done much of it in the past few days. The man nodded and reached below him, grabbing out a key. He handed it to Natsu, who gave him a 40 Euro in return. The man didn’t say anything else, so Natsu assumed it was enough money for the night. 

Natsu moved across the room and up the stairs, the girl dragging behind for a reason unknown to him. He unlocked the door, pushed it open and stepped inside, taking in the two beds, window and bathroom. The girl didn’t follow him in. He turned to her. “Well?” He said, motioning to the room. She stayed planted. 

“I don’t,” She started, and Natsu waited, his patience growing thin. God, he needed sleep. “You’re a stranger,” She said, as if this was an explanation. He groaned. 

“I’m not going to canoodle you or anything. It’s just safer and cheaper to be in one room. Promise. I just want to sleep,” He said, giving up on coaxing her in. He stalked to the window, slamming the drapes shut, and then went to one side, taking off his jacket and then plopping down on the bed. 

She tentatively came in, putting her bag down next to the bed on the other side of the room before stripping her hoodie off and then heading straight for the bathroom. He sighed, pulling the stack of cash he kept in his jacket pocket out and counting it. She was like a child. He wasn’t used to having to be this careful around others. 

She returned from the bathroom and untucked the bed, laying down in it. She was faced away from him. Taking the hint, Natsu placed the money back in his jacket pocket, unwrapped his scarf and then turned off the lights, wondering just what the hell he was doing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update! Hope everyone enjoys. Now that school's back in session the updates may become more sparse but I'll shoot for once a month at the least. Enjoy :) Xx

3

Why had the same room scared her so much? She wasn’t interested in him, and he’d been clear he wasn’t interested in her either, but for some reason she was scared of it. Maybe it was the closeness, the idea that they knew each other, that they were partners, in this together. It was scary. She’d never had anyone on her side before. How was she supposed to take that?

He was controlling, impatient, and a tad outlandish, but she didn’t mind him. He wasn’t mean, just hard, rough around the edges. A warrior. Lucy almost rolled her eyes at herself. She was making herself sound like the writer she always wished she could be if things were different. 

They were seated at a small run down diner across the street from where they’d stayed the night. She didn’t understand it, as he’d been so careful to lay low up until now. So why were they showing their faces at a place in public where random people could see them, identify them if the police did come by, which they would if they could track them. 

She didn’t argue, though. She found that it was easy to just follow what he did. Less draining, less emotional. She could just do as he said, and hope that he would follow through and knew what he was doing. It was almost a weight off her back to not have to plan everything out for once. To follow. To feel the smallest bit of safety. She was too easily trusting.

The waitress placed the eggs and bacon Lucy had ordered in front of her, and the giant plate of pancakes the boy had ordered in front of him. He seemed to have quite the appetite. Neither of them said anything and the waitress left, Lucy picking up her fork and digging into her meal. 

The deal was that she knew she was too trusting, she always had been. She’d think she was fine working this job or that job or sneaking into a school or stealing a bit of this or that and then people would betray her. All of a sudden a coworker or a classmate would be there, telling the authorities that yes, she was the one they were looking for. She never even told them her secret, how would they know? Yet, they always seemed to turn her in without thinking twice. 

Twirling a piece of bacon between her fingers she considered if this man might be just like the others. If he would earn her trust and then betray her. Her heart told her no, but her heart was weak, always ready to lean on anyone who offered support. She herself was too weak. Barely 24 hours and she was ready to let this man take over her life, let him in. 

“Stop,” He said, and Lucy looked up, shocked out of her thoughts by his tone. He had a piece of pancake on his fork, and he was looking directly at her. She hadn’t even noticed him looking at her. She didn’t say anything, unsure of what he meant. “I’m not going to betray you,” He said, biting down on the piece of food. She hid her surprise. Could he read her mind? “It’s written all over your face.” 

She nodded, placing her fork down and picking up the mug of coffee. “I’m overly trusting,” She explained, sipping the coffee has he continued to chow down. She didn’t know why she was sharing. “People betray me. I’m nothing to them, I’m no one. Just something that can get a few bucks or in good with the authorities. People don’t just… help me,” She got out. She sounded ridiculous, like she was throwing a pity party. She stopped herself from saying anymore. 

Finishing off the eggs, she watched him eat. For a few minutes she thought her explanation terrible, that he definitely thought her weak and pitiful. It was true, but she still hated to admit it, or hear it from anyone else’s mouth. He finished his last pancake and wiped his mouth. She noticed up close that four of his teeth were a bit sharper than normal. 

“I don’t care,” He said, and she startled. His bluntness was almost funny. “I’m not like most people. You probably already guessed what kind of magic user I am,” He continued, and Lucy felt herself perk. She wanted to know if what she had guessed was true. “Being descended from dragons just gets you fear from people, even some close to you. I’m not people. I’m not even full human.” 

Lucy almost grinned. He was a dragonslayer. It was badass, she could say that much. Definitely a good ally to have, as he insisted he was. “Well, then, I guess I have to create a whole new category for you,” She said, and the boy grinned. It was scary, but beautiful. It promised something Lucy wanted to take so badly. 

She had decided. She was jumping in. Damn her blasted trusting heart. He’d won her over with a few words. 

“In that case,” She said, knowing the problems what she was about to say could cause if she made the wrong decision, “I’m Lucy.” 

\- ♐ -

Natsu wasn’t sure why he took the girl out for breakfast. He knew that the meal meant easier tracking for the council if they were to find them, but she had seemed so sad and frail the night before, so Natsu found that he couldn’t stop himself. If taking her out to some shabby corner diner could make her a bit less empty, he decided he’d do it. 

It’d had its benefits, though he hadn’t thought the action would. She wasn’t wrong when she said she was overly trusting. He knew he wasn’t going to betray her, but she had every right to believe he was. Due to that fact he was surprised she’d shared so much, including her name. 

_ Lucy _ . It was so pretty, with a simplicity he liked. It fit her. 

They had packed up about an hour ago and were walking on the side of a roadway. Natsu had taken one of the road maps from the motel that had the current roads of Germany, and mapped out a path. They were headed on a trail that led northeast. If all went well, they’d probably reach Poland soon. If they went the wrong way, they may end up in the Czech Republic or even Austria. Natsu had wanted Poland. It was bigger than Czech which meant more area to hide in. He wasn’t sure where they’d head afterwards. He didn’t even know why he’d decided to take control. She didn’t seem to mind, though. 

Realizing he hadn’t asked what she had thought or wanted, Natsu stopped at a turn, walking towards the bushes to avoid being hit by a car on the side of the road, though there weren’t many. He pulled out the map and motioned Lucy over. She seemed tired, so he decided a little breather and chat would be good. 

Lucy pulled the water she’d taken from the diner out of her bag, taking a sip. Natsu stepped closer to her, so she could see the map as well. “This is the planned path,” He traced it with his finger, making sure Lucy saw. “Hopefully we’ll end up in Poland. Are you okay with that?” He asked, and she swallowed her water, looking at him. 

“Yeah, I was thinking of heading that direction before you showed up anyways,” She said, and he closed the map, tucking it in his pocket. She offered the water, and he took it. Pouring a bit into his mouth. He didn’t need much water. He sure could use some fire to munch on, though. She squatted, probably to catch her breath, so Natsu scanned the area around them. Since it was summer, it was dry season, which meant most of the trees were simmering, their bloom happening in spring. The heat wasn’t too terrible, but he was heat himself, so he often forgot other people could get overheated. 

Once Lucy stood up fully, they continued down the path, taking the turn Natsu had anticipated when he mapped the journey out. 

They continued for the rest of the day, resting every few hours. For lunch Lucy ate the bread they had packed up from the diner in the morning. Natsu only had a bit, his stamina was hard to deplete. They reached the town Natsu had planned for them to reach by late evening. He had wanted them to get there earlier, but the sun was a lot on Lucy. He couldn’t blame her. 

They followed the same routine as the night before, this motel even cheaper than the last. Natsu was slightly worried, as he’d run out of money if they kept moving like this. They needed to plant for at least a bit of time so he could pull cash from his bank account without being traced or to give him enough time to pick up some random odd jobs. If not, they’d be sleeping on the streets, and that wasn’t hidden or a good rest for people who were spending the whole day walking. 

Lucy went up to the room first, Natsu going out to find a supermarket of some sort to get them food for that night and the next few days. He picked up a pack while he was out, as he felt guilty making Lucy carry everything around. He also picked up more water than Lucy had asked. He knew she needed it, but she was trying to be ideal. Unfortunately, Natsu needed her in walking shape, not heroic. 

When he got back to the motel and entered the room, he found that Lucy wasn’t in the room. He almost panicked but calmed when he heard the thrum of a shower. He walked towards the slightly open door. Lucy was humming. He didn’t know what she was singing, but it sounded wonderful. She wasn’t good, not at all, but the joy that he heard in the tone made it extremely beautiful. Any bit of Lucy showing emotion was good enough for him. 

The shower clicked off and he quickly made his way to the bed her stuff wasn’t on. This room was smaller, and he found that one of the windows didn’t have blinds. This being a problem, he took one of the blankets from the bed to put it up. Just as he had tied it to the windowsill, Lucy walked out of the bathroom, a small towel wrapped around her body. 

Her body. Natsu wasn’t sure he’d seen something as exotic as it. He wasn’t sure how she managed to keep her curves like… well, like  _ that _ when she was constantly on the run. Maybe it was constant exercise, but Natsu didn’t care to contemplate at the moment. He’d seen his fair share of nice bodies but, damn, Lucy was beautiful. It struck him then just how gorgeous she really was. 

She coughed, and he realized he was oogling, but he found it hard to tear his eyes away. Looking up, he found her blushing, so he offered her a grin in return. “Nice shower?” He asked, and she nodded. He realized she was waiting for him to turn away so she could dress. “I’m going to wash up myself,” he said, before moving into the bathroom as fast as he could. Hopefully she’d left him some hot water. 

\- ♐ -

It had been almost a week since they started this journey. Lucy was exhausted. Luckily, Natsu, who had told Lucy his name last night while she was complaining that she didn’t know anything about him, promised they’d reach the border town tonight, and that, if all went well, he could safely get money from his bank account with no one being able to trace it and she could have a day or so rest. 

It was starting to get dark out, and Lucy’s throat was burning. She’d tried not to drink too much water and to savor it, but it was almost impossible in this heat. The lack of water plus the fact that they hadn’t stopped with a place to stay the night before, just camped out a bit off the road in some tall grass, probably in some random farmers field, which didn’t offer a relaxed sleep. She’d been scared someone would be suspicious of them, but Natsu had told her to trust him, as he always did, and they’d been fine. 

In the morning they’d continued on, and Natsu surmised that he had to get money for them in the next town or they wouldn’t be able to afford any shelter. Lucy was frustrated that she couldn’t pitch in with money but she’d had barely any when she was planning on leaving before Natsu showed up, and they’d spent the rest of it on the first night. Knowing he had an account helped, but it wasn’t enough reassurance to keep her heart steady. 

By nightfall they had made it to the border town, the same town Natsu had planned when they first got the map and he plotted their course. Lucy was impressed by his sense of direction. After entering the town, Lucy noticed that there weren’t many people on the streets. She didn’t know what day it was, but it must’ve been a weekday, since no one was out. She hoped that was the reason, but she couldn’t help being a bit paranoid. 

They wandered about a bit before Natsu found a bank. He told Lucy to wait outside, so she did, though she would’ve liked if she could’ve been inside in the air conditioning. She didn’t complain though, as it wasn’t worth the emotional stressor it put on her. When he came out 10 minutes later she didn’t ask how he got the money. She figured she’d wait till they were alone and they knew they were safe. 

Apparently Natsu had asked inside a place to stay in the area, so he lead the way. It ended up being a swanky hotel, that was much nicer than anywhere they’d stayed before. Lucy grumbled at how it cost a bit more, but Natsu said that the banker had told him it was the only space in town. Lucy doubted it but again kept quiet, just standing by as Natsu talked to the front desk and got them a room. She practically collapsed into the bed when they made it to the room. It even had a balcony, though there wasn’t much to look out on. 

Natsu stepped into the room a few seconds later, and Lucy sat up on the bed, watching him. He placed his pack down on the bed, and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Lucy laid back down, looking up at the ceiling, though she wasn’t really looking. Instead, she was thinking about what would happen next. They’d had a goal of reaching the next country over, which they had done. So what then? What were they going to do? Plant, try and make up a fake life? Continue running, forever? Would he leave her to go do something else? 

The door to the bathroom reopened and Lucy didn’t bother sitting up to look at Natsu. “They have a restaurant in the hotel,” Natsu said, and Lucy rolled over to face him. He was sorting through the cash he had gotten from the bank, counting it. He seemed to do that a lot. Lucy wondered if he had money problems in the past or if he just needed something to do with his hands. 

“Is that safe?” Lucy asked, sitting up and stretching her arms out. A yawn escaped her mouth and she smothered it, biting down on her lip. 

“By now, they already saw us checking in. Might as well,” Natsu said, shrugging, and Lucy sighed. It didn’t take much for her to give in to him anymore. She guessed he was right.  _ Spirits _ , she was too trusting. “Besides, I’m tired of eating stale crackers and expired lunch meat,” Natsu pointed out, and Lucy decided she could agree with that.

As they left for dinner, Lucy pondered whether it was that she was too trusting with everyone, or if the pink haired, onyx eyed boy in front of her was a special case.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu and Lucy continue to get to know each other and come up with a possible plan about the future. Natsu calls in backup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... life has been nuts. I'm sure many of you can relate. But I'm back with another chapter of my fave kiddos. I've been adding to this story more frequently now so hopefully I won't have such long breaks between chapters. Fingers crossed. Hope you and your loved ones are staying safe. Enjoy! :)

**4**

Natsu had awoken the next morning with a spring he hadn’t felt in a while. He was glad to have enough to make it for a few more weeks with shelter, that was part of it, but it was also due to the fact that Lucy had let her walls down just a bit. They hadn’t talked much at dinner the night before, but Lucy had argued with him a few times, something he was pleased to hear her doing, as she hadn’t done much of it. She always seemed to bite her tongue before she could snap back, so her actually piping up meant a lot. 

He was a bit worried about money, but he wasn’t going to worry about that at the moment. He wasn’t sure how much he could keep pulling until the account was empty. Being a bounty hunter wasn’t the best paying job, especially when working under the council. The council was not the generous sort, which was ridiculous, as they had plenty of money to spare. 

He didn’t work for the Council directly, and he’d only seen the members, and had never actually met any of them. His employer, who was a sort of informant from the council, would get information of who the council needed either dead, captured, or both, and then come to him and the other mercenaries with missions and rewards. They weren’t allowed to claim any certain mission, which meant whoever got to the person or item first would be the one with the money. The system made it efficient, as people didn’t want other soldiers getting the reward they wanted, so they’d hunt faster and better. 

None of the others had been interested in hunting Lucy. To most of them, Natsu included, hunting Celestials was boring, and mostly anticlimactic. The thrill of the chase was the target running, and fighting. Since Celestials didn’t have their powers there wasn’t much evading or fighting back they could do. Natsu had decided to hunt Lucy because he was bored and thought maybe hunting Lucy would be different. Plus, the money reward for her was high, as she was a Celestial, and the council wanted them eliminated. Natsu didn’t know why, though. 

He’d never put much thought into the people he was hunting. If he did, he’d find himself feeling emotions towards them, and guilt for taking them or taking their life. Sure, he’d hunted a fair share of criminals who deserved what was coming for them, but hunting people like Lucy didn’t give him any joy. They were normal people, with bad situations. He could’ve been in that place himself if the Council suddenly decided they wanted to kill all dragonslayers. Of course, it wasn’t as easy as closing the Celestial gate, and Dragonslayers were far too powerful for the council to destroy, but it could be done, with much effort. 

Natsu had found his way onto the main street, with people moving about, getting their daily tasks done, and shopkeepers flipping their signs from closed to open. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was looking for, but there was no harm in looking. He decided he’d start on the right side and then loop around. He passed a jewelry store, and hit a coffee shop, wandering inside.

\- ♑ -

Lucy woke to the sound of the door to the hotel room opening and shutting. She batted her eyelids, trying to get the heaviness out of them so she could see Natsu. When they finally opened, she was hit with instant light, and she sat up groggily. Natsu was opening the window blind just a crack to let some sunlight in. Lucy rubbed her eyes and flattened out her hair, which had gone crazy in her sleep. 

On the nightstand next to Natsu’s bed was two coffee cups and two food bags. She assumed one of them was for her. Did he even know what kind of coffee she drank? Stretching her arms out, Lucy threw the covers off her, and stood, moving towards the liquid goodness. Natsu beat her there, lifting one up and handing it to her. She took a sip, not questioning what it was. Vanilla latte. Lucy gave him a smile. 

“Glad I made the right guess,” Natsu said, sipping his own. He picked up the food bags. “Croissant or muffin?” He asked, and Lucy pointed at the croissant. He handed it to her, and Lucy sat back down on her bed, munching. “

“What will we do now?” She asked carefully, wanting to get the question out of the way. She didn’t have a clue, and she hoped Natsu had at least thought it over. 

“Well, it’s up to you,” Natsu offered up, and Lucy quickly shook her head. Natsu laughed. “It’s your journey, Lucy. I’m just the brawn to protect.”

Lucy scoffed. She hadn’t needed any protecting yet, and hopefully she wouldn’t need it now. She’d gotten along just fine before he showed up. “Will the council ever give up the search?” Lucy asked quietly. She knew she was stuck being wary for the rest of her life. If she had any more Celestial moments the council would immediately send people after her. But, she didn’t want Natsu to think he needed to be the ‘brawn’ for the rest of her life. 

“I don’t know, depends,” Natsu admitted. Not very helpful, but truthful, at least. “I was the only one who was ready to embark on the journey to chase you because of the amount of money for your ransom,” Natsu continued, and Lucy perked. She had never known how the assassin's or whatever they were called were chosen to chase her. “I got lucky because you let off your, burst, or whatever, so others may end up coming after you as well. Hopefully we can go for no burst in public places for a while?” Natsu ended the last sentence on a question and Lucy held back the need to roll her eyes. 

“I’ll try very hard,” She said sarcastically. “I can’t control them, you know. After they closed the bridge between our world and the celestial world I could no longer talk to them. I’m practically powerless, save for the fact that they can shoot small bits of power when they think they hear me.” 

Natsu cocked his head at her, interest in his eyes. She didn’t realize this wasn’t common knowledge. “Well, maybe we should do something about that,” Natsu declared quietly, and Lucy blinked at him. 

“I can’t lose my power, and the idiotic council probably won’t be revoking their law soon, so I find it hard to believe that my bursts will be stopping any soon,” She said defensively. She didn’t like the feeling of being a burden. 

“No, not that,” Natsu corrected, and Lucy looked down at her coffeecup, realizing what he was going to say. “We should put the bridge back up. Get the connection between the two worlds back.”

He sounded so sure, so confident. Lucy swirled her coffee, watching the brown liquid move through the small hole. “I don’t know if it can be done,” Lucy admitted quietly, sipping the liquid. She could feel the tears beginning to pool in her eyes and breathed in shakily. She hadn’t cried in a while, and she wasn’t going to start anytime soon. Hanging around Natsu had made her feel protected and childish. 

“Hey,” Natsu said, and she heard a bit of shuffling, and then felt his weight on the bed in front of her. He put his hand on her shoulder and Lucy looked up at him. She wasn’t this used to being this close to people. “We can’t know until we try, right? If anything, it could at least answer our ‘what will we do next’ question.”

“It’s not that simple though,” Lucy said, exasperated. She’d questioned whether it could be done many times and every time she thought about it she felt less confident. “It isn’t just a bridge to be rebuilt, it’s a lot more than that,” She tried to explain. “Besides, we don’t even know how to do it or where to start.”

“I may have one lead,” Natsu said, a grin widening on his face. Lucy was starting to know that grin a little too well. 

\- ♑ -

“Yeah, who is this?” Natsu felt his heart give a little beat of happiness at hearing his older brother’s voice. He also couldn’t believe he was doing this. Half his life he didn’t trust Zeref, especially since he was a hunter as well. This time, he was just going to have to rely on the fact that Zeref was family. 

“Sup big bro?” Natsu said cheerfully, Lucy close, listening in next to him. Natsu smiled when he heard Zeref laugh. 

“Long time no see little buddy. What happened to you?” Zeref said. He sounded cheerful but Natsu wanted to be cautious, and he knew how easy it was to cut in on phone lines and listen in to conversations. 

“I’ll explain it soon. Can you meet? I wanna talk to you about some stuff,” Natsu said, hoping Zeref got the “not here not now” message. Lucy sucked in a quiet breath. She had reason to be nervous, but Natsu still didn’t like seeing her overly anxious. 

“Yeah, you know I can track you. How soon?” Zeref asked, and Natsu winked at Lucy in relief. Their sibling talk was still in full function. He knew he could count on Zeref to pick up his tone. 

“Soon as you can,” Natsu informed. “See ya round big bro.” 

The phone clicked as Natsu placed it back on the handle. Lucy looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “You didn’t give him a location,” Lucy said, though it seemed like she was asking for confirmation on a suspicion. Natsu tapped his nose in reply, and Lucy nodded, understanding. 

“He’ll be here in a day or so, maybe faster. He’s got some really amazing powers. I can’t explain how they work, but they’re cool as hell,” Natsu said, knowing Lucy would ask what they were. He was starting to read Lucy’s various expression’s easily. 

Honestly, Natsu wasn’t sure if calling Zeref had been the right decision. But he’d seen the secret hope in Lucy’s eyes, and he couldn’t stop himself. She deserved love, and happiness, and all the good things a life of non-persecution and running could offer her. He wanted to be the one to give her those. He wasn’t sure why yet, though he had a suspicious feeling he was just scared of the why. Either way, if there was any possible way they could rebuild the bridge to the celestial world, he’d find it. 

“Come on, lets get some dinner. I saw a place while I was walking in the town,” Natsu said, and Lucy fell into step next to him as they headed in the direction of the town. She was quieter than usual, but not as much in a sad way as it was contemplative. She was nervous about calling his brother, especially because she hated trusting people, he could tell. Yet, she’d trusted  _ him _ to make the right choice and didn’t argue. 

Natsu didn’t say anything, though. He wasn’t ready to push at it. He wasn’t prepared for her response, that maybe, for the first time in his life, he had a friend. A human friend, at least. A true friend who was kind and who cared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... backup has been called in, and a plan has been devised. What do you think will happen next? Let me know and let me know if you life. Thanks everyone Xx


End file.
